Tickets// ON THE STARTING LINE
The University of Cincinnati #21 women's and #48 men's track and field teams are set to return to action for the second time this season and the first time in 2018 as the Bearcats will head south to Lexington, Ky., this Friday and Saturday to compete in the Kentucky Invitational inside the Nutter Field House on the UK campus. The meet is scheduled to feature competitors from 17 different programs and will be the first of six weekends in a row the Bearcats will compete.
// MEET INFORMATION
The meet will feature 15 events over two days, including nine events on the track and six in the field. Friday will feature just two events, including the weight throw at 4 p.m. and the distance medley relay at 7 p.m. On Saturday, field events will lead off the day at 9 a.m. with the men's and women's high jump competitions with the women's pole vault, women's shot put and both triple jump competitions being the final field events to start at 2 p.m. On the track, running gets underway at noon with the men's 60m hurdles preliminary rounds while the women's 4x400m relay, which is slated for 4:15 p.m., is set to be the final event of the meet.
// IN THE MEET
The 17 schools that will be represented in the meet include the following: Arkansas State, Ball State, Bellarmine, Berea, Cincinnati, Dayton (W), Eastern Kentucky, Indiana, IUPUI, James Madison, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Ohio State, Spalding and Xavier. Four schools have both men and women ranked nationally in the Top 50, including UC (#21W/#48M), Indiana (#33/#14), Kentucky (#9/#18) and Ohio State (#35/#27).
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsTFXC. As always, fans are encouraged to join in the conversation using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// QUICK STARTS
• The women are ranked #21 and the men #48 in the preseason USTFCCCA rankings (Jan. 10)
• Echikunwoke is already back at it smashing her own school and conference record while also taking over the national lead in the weight throw at 23.15m at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8)
• For her performance, she was named the AAC Female Field Athlete of the Week
• Echikunwoke also was recently selected for an on-campus award (Student Trailblazer Award) as part of the 2018 Onyx & Ruby Gala
• According to the TFRRS NCAA Descending Order lists, nine women's marks and eight men's marks currently rank in the national Top 100, including Echikunwoke (#1 weight, #4 shot put) and Valles (#5 pole vault) holding Top 5 rankings
• The same order lists have four women's and one men's mark leading the AAC as well while the women hold 20 marks and the men 13 in the AAC Top 8 (as of Jan. 8)
• For the week of Dec. 4-11, five Bearcats turned in 11 marks that ranked among the Top 10 of the week nationally (USTFCCCA Top 10) with Echikunwoke posting five of the Top 10 marks of the week in the weight throw
// IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS - TEAM
The USTFCCCA released its first computer rankings of the indoor season with both Bearcats teams earning spots in the Top 50. The rankings, which are based on accumulated points based on marks achieved during the season, have the women at #21 and the men at #48, both of which are the highest preseason rankings in program history for both sides.
// MORE ON THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The women's ranking of #21 equals their highest ranking in program history after finishing the 2017 season in the same spot. The ranking also stands as the highest preseason ranking the women have attained, surpassing the #29 ranking earned last year. While just the third Top 25 ranking UC has ever earned, it does mark the 19th week in a row that the women have been ranked among the national Top 50. On the men's side, their #48 ranking marks just the fourth time they have landed in the Top 50 with the previous three coming in the previous two seasons: #44 to end 2016, #42 to open 2017 and #50 in Week 1 of 2017.
// ANNETTE OFF TO HOT START
To say Annette Echikunwoke got her season off to a hot start might be an understatement. The defending national champion in the weight throw picked up where she left off in the event, smashing her own school and conference record with a heave of 23.15m (75-11.50) to easily win the event at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8). While she broke her previous record by 1' 6", she also strung together a huge series of throws as four of her six marks were over 22 meters, a feat she accomplished last year six times while the rest of the nation combined for six tosses of 22m. She was not done there, though, as she took second in the shot put with a school-record toss of 16.72m (54-10.50) as well to rank among the Top 5 in the nation for the year so far.
// HISTORICAL MARK
Not only did Echikunwoke reset her own school and conference records, but she also pushed her name higher up both the NCAA and World all-time rankings. On a collegiate level, her toss of 23.15m makes her just the seventh different individual to surpass the 23m mark as she ranks #7 all-time (single mark list) while ranking #15 all-time on the list (Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois holds the #1 through #9 all-time marks). According to the statistical compilation of marks on Tilastopaja.net, Echikunwoke's toss of 23.15m also ranks her #16 all-time in the world.
// USTFCCCA WEEKLY TOP 10
On December 11, the USTFCCCA released its weekly Top 10 marks list that compiles all results from all collegiate divisions for the prior week and the name of a Bearcats competitor appeared 11 times overall, including eight on the women's charts. For the women, Echikunwoke turned in the #1 (23.15m), #2 (22.98m), #3 (22.96m), #4 (22.02m) and #9 (20.69m) weight throw marks in the nation while also posting the #2 (16.72m) shot put mark. Bryana Robinson posted a time of 1:11.45 in the 500m to run the fastest time in the nation for the week. The women's listing was rounded out by Tiona Lattimore, who ran 38.43 in the 300m to post the #5 time nationally while breaking the school record. On the men's side, Adrian Valles had a pair of Top 10 pole vault clearances, including #2 (5.30m) and tie for #5 (5.20m), while Jimmy Brooks ran 1:04.40 in the 500m to record the #10 time nationally for the week.
// ANNETTE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Following her impressive opening weekend of action, Echikunwoke was selected as the American Athletic Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week (Dec. 12). The honor, her first of the year, marks the sixth time in her career that Echikunwoke has garnered an indoor accolade from the AAC and her seventh overall after being named to an outdoor award once.
// ON THE NATIONAL LIST
According to the latest NCAA order lists (TFRRS.org on Jan. 8), 17 marks recorded by the Bearcats at the Hoosier Open still rank in the national Top 100, including nine by the women and eight for the men. Of those marks, the women hold four marks in the Top 25 while the men have two. On the women's lists, Echikunwoke is ranked twice as she is #1 in the weight throw and #4 in the shot put while Loretta Blaut is #20 in the high jump and Kellsa Mbah #24 in the long jump. For the men, Adrian Valles is #5 in the pole vault while Austin Edwards is #10 in the long jump.
// TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
According to those same lists, five marks held by Bearcats are currently leading the American Athletic Conference. For the women, Echikunwoke leads in the weight throw and shot put, Blaut leads the high jump and Mbah leads the long jump while the men see Valles atop the pole vault. Overall, the women have 20 total marks that currently rank in the Top 8 of the league while the men have posted 13 Top 8 marks so far this year.
// MORE ON HOOSIER OPEN - WOMEN
Six women's marks turned in at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8) found their way onto the program's all-time Top 10 charts, including three school records. Echikunwoke broke her own school record in the weight throw with a heave of 23.15m while also bettering the shot put mark to 16.72m to break two of the records while Tiona Lattimore ran 38.43 in the 300m to break the previous record of 38.60 in 2015 by Kenya Woodall. In the same race, Haisha Bisiolu ran 39.07 to move up to #4 in the 300m while Bryana Robinson, who ran the fastest 500m in the nation that week at 1:11.45, moved up to #2. Meg Westerheide ran 2:57.99 in the 1,000m to post the #4 time in program history.
// MORE ON HOOSIER OPEN - MEN
Five marks recorded by the men rank in the program's all-time Top 10 with four of those marks coming from three men competing in their first indoor campaign for the Bearcats. Redshirt freshman Austin Edwards turned in two of those marks, including the #5 long jump mark at 7.45m while his 60m dash time of 6.88 ranks #7. Junior transfer Marcus Abraham hit a toss of 15.89m in the shot put for the #10 mark while true freshman Sam Meece recorded a mark of 16.75m in the weight throw for the #9 (tie) spot on the list. Jimmy Brooks ran 1:04.40 in the 500m to move to #5 all-time.
// ECHIKUNWOKE NAMED TRAILBLAZER
The University of Cincinnati African American Alumni Affiliate (4A) recently announced its 2018 Class of Onyx & Ruby Award honorees with Annette Echikunwoke being named the recipient of the Student Trailblazer Award and will be honored at the Onyx & Ruby Gala February 24 at the Sharonville Convention Center. The first national champion in program history after winning the 2017 NCAA weight throw title was selected for the award that is given annually to individuals who create university firsts or were at the forefront of movements and activities. For more information on the Gala and all award honorees, visit: Alumni.UC.edu/ORG18/Bios.
// GRADE CHECK
On January 10, Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) released academic data for the 2017 Fall semester, including those athletes that finished the semester with a 3.0 or better grade-point average. Overall, 62 track & field/cross country student-athletes recorded better than a 3.0 GPA, including 34 women and 28 men, to earn a place on the Bearcats Honor Roll. Of those student-athletes, 25 women and 19 men maintained a 3.4 GPA or better to garner Dean's List accolades. Also, four men and four women recorded perfect 4.0 GPAs to be named TopCats. That list included Spencer Clark, Dan Huben, Jacob Rieman and Adrian Valles for the men and Alexis Gray, Grace O'Donnell, Tessa Ward and Meg Westerheide for the women.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// RETURNING CHAMPION
On March 11, 2017, Annette Echikunwoke capture the national title in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships, collecting the first crown in program history as she won with a heave of 22.42m (73-06.75). With her win, Echikunwoke became just the fifth UC student-athlete to win an individual national title in the history of UC Athletics. Prior to her victory, two diving and two swimming titles had been captured by Bearcats with the last coming in 2010 when Josh Schneider won the men's 50 freestyle. Echikunwoke also is now just the second UC woman to win an individual national crown, joining diver Becky Ruehl, who won the 1996 platform event at the NCAA meet. Prior to that trio, Pat Evans won the 3m diving event in 1989 and Charles Keating brought home the first gold with the title in 200 butterfly in 1946.
// SMASHING RECORDS
On her way to the title, the UC record holder broke her program mark three times during the year, bringing her haul to 11 times since the start of the 2016 season that she either tied or broke the mark with five of those throws coming at Indiana's facility. Prior to that season, the record was 19.53m (64-01.00) and was held by Mimi Merrill since 2001. Echikunwoke broke that record on her second throw of the 2016 season with a mark of 20.04m before bettering that record to 20.05m two rounds later at the Kentucky Invitational. From there, Echikunwoke improved the record five more times in 2016 and then four times in 2017 to eventually land at 22.69m (74-05.50), which is the current record and a 10' 4.5" improvement over Merrill's previous record.
// RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Along with Echikunwoke, the Bearcats have one other returning indoor All-American and five more that earned the national accolade during the outdoor season last year. Adrian Valles finished fifth in the men's pole vault indoors last year before taking national runner-up honors outdoor to collect a pair of USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors, bringing his career total to five. Loretta Blaut placed in a tie for sixth in the high jump outdoors to earn first team honors while the team of Haisha Bisiolu, Deanna Gesicki, Tiona Lattimore and Bryana Robinson combined to earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors in the 4x400m relay outdoors, the first for a relay in program history.
// THAT'S A FIRST
The women's 4x400m relay team was full of firsts in 2017. The quartet swept the 4x400m relay events at the AAC Indoor and AAC Outdoor Championships for the first crowns in program history. Then, the ladies broke the school record several times, including in their win at the conference outdoor meet before breaking it once again, running 3:36.59 at the regional meet to qualify for the national finals, marking the first UC relay to reach the NCAA outdoor meet. They weren't done there, however, as they broke the record once again in Eugene, running 3:35.96 in the semifinals to finish 15th overall. Despite not reaching the final, the team did earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team accolades, marking the first time in program history a relay team earned All-America status.
// INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN
For the second time in his career, Adrian Valles took part in one of the largest meets in the world as he represented his native Spain in the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London this past summer. Valles, who competed at the world meet in Beijing, China, in 2015, placed 16th overall in the qualification round this year. To get to London, Valles continued to chase a clearance of 5.70m throughout much of the collegiate season before he was added to the field in a pole vault competition in Landau, Germany. In the street event (raised runway on a city street), Valles climbed over the qualifying standard and punched his ticket to London.
// XC: DUNLAP EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE
Heading into the 2016 cross country season, the Bearcats women had not had an all-conference (Top 15) finisher in the AAC Championships. Then, Juliana Madzia, who was honored as a Top 30 selection for the 2016-17 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, finished 13th at the meet UC hosted to earn the program's first all-conference accolade since Ruth Limo at the 2004 Conference USA meet. This year, Madison Dunlap ran a personal-best time on a hilly course in Philadelphia to place 15th overall and earn her first all-conference selection and the program's second in as many years. The 15th woman in program history to earn cross country all-conference honors (25th total honor), Dunlap combines with Madzia to earn back-to-back conference honors for the first time since 2001 and 2002 when Angie Kist and Limo finished 12th and 10th, respectively, at the CUSA meet.
// MEN ACADEMICALLY HONORED
Following the cross country season, the American Athletic Conference announced its annual award winners with the UC men being named the 2017 AAC Team Academic Award winners. This is the second year in a row that the Bearcats men have won the award, which is given to the team with the highest cumulative GPA.
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The Bearcats welcomed 22 newcomers to the program this year, including 18 true freshmen, with 17 of those total newcomers joining the men's roster. Joining the men's track & field and cross country rosters are freshmen Cameron Davis (Strongsville), Connor Duricky (Mentor), Ryan Guenthner (Louisville, Ky.), Danny Jones (Canal Winchester), Albert Kalala (Cincinnati), Isaiah McCall (Lexington, Ky.), Sam Meece (Napolean), Issac Naayers (Lancaster), Cannon Riddle (Hilliard), Jacob Rieman (Beavercreek), Matt Stump (Medina), Brandon White (Stafford, Va.) and Zion Wynn (Loveland). The men also welcomed in transfers Marcus Abraham (Charlotte, N.C./Gardner-Webb U.), Branden Nosker (Troy, Ohio/Mississippi State) and Anthony Woods (Macedonia, Ohio/Ohio Dominican U.) with Steven Zombory (Chardon) joining the program after running for the campus running club. On the women's side, four of the five newcomers are true freshmen, including Sydney Hess (Curtice), Kennedy Marable (Toledo), Sam Mikula (Columbus) and Katrina Patterson (Clarence, N.Y.) with the fifth newcomer being Mary Purtsa (Germany).
// WELCOME TO UC!
While the majority of newcomers to the 2017-18 rosters were men, the 2018-19 signing class is comprised mostly of women. The class, which will join the Bearcats in time for the 2018 cross country and 2019 track & field seasons, includes 13 members, including nine women and four men. The women's class includes Faith Banks (Macedonia), Kaylia Black (Sandusky), Caisja Chandler (Euclid), Kylie Cutlip (Quaker City), Izzy Kline (Newton Falls), Carmen Licht (Macedonia), Leah Maschino (Maineville), Rylee Penn (Corona, Calif.) and Malin Smith (Lansing, Mich.) while the newest members of the men's program will include Toni Banos (Berga, Spain), Aaron Bienenfeld (Frankfurt, Germany), Austin Goolsby (Hillsboro) and Quincy Mitchell (Hanahan, S.C.).
// TWO MORE TO ADD
The Bearcats men added a pair of mid-year competitors over the winter break as signee Bienenfeld and transfer Andre Wright are ready to compete for the Bearcats immediately. Both individuals will be entering their sophomore seasons with Bienenfeld coming from the University of Frankfurt (Germany) and Wright transferring in from Liberty University. Bienenfeld will run in the distance events while Wright will take part in the horizontal jumps (long and triple).
// UC HOSTING AAC OUTDOORS IN 2018
This season, the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by the Bearcats at Gettler Stadium and Coy Field. The three-day meet will take place May 11-13 on the UC campus and will mark the first AAC track & field meet the Bearcats have played host and the second AAC meet UC has hosted after holding the 2016 AAC Cross Country Championships at Voice of America MetroPark in West Chester. The last time the Bearcats played host to a conference meet came in 2010 when the BIG EAST meet was held at Gettler Stadium.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will return to action Saturday, January 20, when they head to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational. The meet will be contested over one day with several field events getting underway at 10 a.m. before running events start at noon.
The University of Cincinnati #21 women's and #48 men's track and field teams are set to return to action for the second time this season and the first time in 2018 as the Bearcats will head south to Lexington, Ky., this Friday and Saturday to compete in the Kentucky Invitational inside the Nutter Field House on the UK campus. The meet is scheduled to feature competitors from 17 different programs and will be the first of six weekends in a row the Bearcats will compete.
// MEET INFORMATION
The meet will feature 15 events over two days, including nine events on the track and six in the field. Friday will feature just two events, including the weight throw at 4 p.m. and the distance medley relay at 7 p.m. On Saturday, field events will lead off the day at 9 a.m. with the men's and women's high jump competitions with the women's pole vault, women's shot put and both triple jump competitions being the final field events to start at 2 p.m. On the track, running gets underway at noon with the men's 60m hurdles preliminary rounds while the women's 4x400m relay, which is slated for 4:15 p.m., is set to be the final event of the meet.
// IN THE MEET
The 17 schools that will be represented in the meet include the following: Arkansas State, Ball State, Bellarmine, Berea, Cincinnati, Dayton (W), Eastern Kentucky, Indiana, IUPUI, James Madison, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Ohio State, Spalding and Xavier. Four schools have both men and women ranked nationally in the Top 50, including UC (#21W/#48M), Indiana (#33/#14), Kentucky (#9/#18) and Ohio State (#35/#27).
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsTFXC. As always, fans are encouraged to join in the conversation using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// QUICK STARTS
• The women are ranked #21 and the men #48 in the preseason USTFCCCA rankings (Jan. 10)
• Echikunwoke is already back at it smashing her own school and conference record while also taking over the national lead in the weight throw at 23.15m at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8)
• For her performance, she was named the AAC Female Field Athlete of the Week
• Echikunwoke also was recently selected for an on-campus award (Student Trailblazer Award) as part of the 2018 Onyx & Ruby Gala
• According to the TFRRS NCAA Descending Order lists, nine women's marks and eight men's marks currently rank in the national Top 100, including Echikunwoke (#1 weight, #4 shot put) and Valles (#5 pole vault) holding Top 5 rankings
• The same order lists have four women's and one men's mark leading the AAC as well while the women hold 20 marks and the men 13 in the AAC Top 8 (as of Jan. 8)
• For the week of Dec. 4-11, five Bearcats turned in 11 marks that ranked among the Top 10 of the week nationally (USTFCCCA Top 10) with Echikunwoke posting five of the Top 10 marks of the week in the weight throw
// IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS - TEAM
The USTFCCCA released its first computer rankings of the indoor season with both Bearcats teams earning spots in the Top 50. The rankings, which are based on accumulated points based on marks achieved during the season, have the women at #21 and the men at #48, both of which are the highest preseason rankings in program history for both sides.
// MORE ON THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The women's ranking of #21 equals their highest ranking in program history after finishing the 2017 season in the same spot. The ranking also stands as the highest preseason ranking the women have attained, surpassing the #29 ranking earned last year. While just the third Top 25 ranking UC has ever earned, it does mark the 19th week in a row that the women have been ranked among the national Top 50. On the men's side, their #48 ranking marks just the fourth time they have landed in the Top 50 with the previous three coming in the previous two seasons: #44 to end 2016, #42 to open 2017 and #50 in Week 1 of 2017.
// ANNETTE OFF TO HOT START
To say Annette Echikunwoke got her season off to a hot start might be an understatement. The defending national champion in the weight throw picked up where she left off in the event, smashing her own school and conference record with a heave of 23.15m (75-11.50) to easily win the event at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8). While she broke her previous record by 1' 6", she also strung together a huge series of throws as four of her six marks were over 22 meters, a feat she accomplished last year six times while the rest of the nation combined for six tosses of 22m. She was not done there, though, as she took second in the shot put with a school-record toss of 16.72m (54-10.50) as well to rank among the Top 5 in the nation for the year so far.
// HISTORICAL MARK
Not only did Echikunwoke reset her own school and conference records, but she also pushed her name higher up both the NCAA and World all-time rankings. On a collegiate level, her toss of 23.15m makes her just the seventh different individual to surpass the 23m mark as she ranks #7 all-time (single mark list) while ranking #15 all-time on the list (Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois holds the #1 through #9 all-time marks). According to the statistical compilation of marks on Tilastopaja.net, Echikunwoke's toss of 23.15m also ranks her #16 all-time in the world.
// USTFCCCA WEEKLY TOP 10
On December 11, the USTFCCCA released its weekly Top 10 marks list that compiles all results from all collegiate divisions for the prior week and the name of a Bearcats competitor appeared 11 times overall, including eight on the women's charts. For the women, Echikunwoke turned in the #1 (23.15m), #2 (22.98m), #3 (22.96m), #4 (22.02m) and #9 (20.69m) weight throw marks in the nation while also posting the #2 (16.72m) shot put mark. Bryana Robinson posted a time of 1:11.45 in the 500m to run the fastest time in the nation for the week. The women's listing was rounded out by Tiona Lattimore, who ran 38.43 in the 300m to post the #5 time nationally while breaking the school record. On the men's side, Adrian Valles had a pair of Top 10 pole vault clearances, including #2 (5.30m) and tie for #5 (5.20m), while Jimmy Brooks ran 1:04.40 in the 500m to record the #10 time nationally for the week.
// ANNETTE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Following her impressive opening weekend of action, Echikunwoke was selected as the American Athletic Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week (Dec. 12). The honor, her first of the year, marks the sixth time in her career that Echikunwoke has garnered an indoor accolade from the AAC and her seventh overall after being named to an outdoor award once.
// ON THE NATIONAL LIST
According to the latest NCAA order lists (TFRRS.org on Jan. 8), 17 marks recorded by the Bearcats at the Hoosier Open still rank in the national Top 100, including nine by the women and eight for the men. Of those marks, the women hold four marks in the Top 25 while the men have two. On the women's lists, Echikunwoke is ranked twice as she is #1 in the weight throw and #4 in the shot put while Loretta Blaut is #20 in the high jump and Kellsa Mbah #24 in the long jump. For the men, Adrian Valles is #5 in the pole vault while Austin Edwards is #10 in the long jump.
// TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
According to those same lists, five marks held by Bearcats are currently leading the American Athletic Conference. For the women, Echikunwoke leads in the weight throw and shot put, Blaut leads the high jump and Mbah leads the long jump while the men see Valles atop the pole vault. Overall, the women have 20 total marks that currently rank in the Top 8 of the league while the men have posted 13 Top 8 marks so far this year.
// MORE ON HOOSIER OPEN - WOMEN
Six women's marks turned in at the Hoosier Open (Dec. 8) found their way onto the program's all-time Top 10 charts, including three school records. Echikunwoke broke her own school record in the weight throw with a heave of 23.15m while also bettering the shot put mark to 16.72m to break two of the records while Tiona Lattimore ran 38.43 in the 300m to break the previous record of 38.60 in 2015 by Kenya Woodall. In the same race, Haisha Bisiolu ran 39.07 to move up to #4 in the 300m while Bryana Robinson, who ran the fastest 500m in the nation that week at 1:11.45, moved up to #2. Meg Westerheide ran 2:57.99 in the 1,000m to post the #4 time in program history.
// MORE ON HOOSIER OPEN - MEN
Five marks recorded by the men rank in the program's all-time Top 10 with four of those marks coming from three men competing in their first indoor campaign for the Bearcats. Redshirt freshman Austin Edwards turned in two of those marks, including the #5 long jump mark at 7.45m while his 60m dash time of 6.88 ranks #7. Junior transfer Marcus Abraham hit a toss of 15.89m in the shot put for the #10 mark while true freshman Sam Meece recorded a mark of 16.75m in the weight throw for the #9 (tie) spot on the list. Jimmy Brooks ran 1:04.40 in the 500m to move to #5 all-time.
// ECHIKUNWOKE NAMED TRAILBLAZER
The University of Cincinnati African American Alumni Affiliate (4A) recently announced its 2018 Class of Onyx & Ruby Award honorees with Annette Echikunwoke being named the recipient of the Student Trailblazer Award and will be honored at the Onyx & Ruby Gala February 24 at the Sharonville Convention Center. The first national champion in program history after winning the 2017 NCAA weight throw title was selected for the award that is given annually to individuals who create university firsts or were at the forefront of movements and activities. For more information on the Gala and all award honorees, visit: Alumni.UC.edu/ORG18/Bios.
// GRADE CHECK
On January 10, Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) released academic data for the 2017 Fall semester, including those athletes that finished the semester with a 3.0 or better grade-point average. Overall, 62 track & field/cross country student-athletes recorded better than a 3.0 GPA, including 34 women and 28 men, to earn a place on the Bearcats Honor Roll. Of those student-athletes, 25 women and 19 men maintained a 3.4 GPA or better to garner Dean's List accolades. Also, four men and four women recorded perfect 4.0 GPAs to be named TopCats. That list included Spencer Clark, Dan Huben, Jacob Rieman and Adrian Valles for the men and Alexis Gray, Grace O'Donnell, Tessa Ward and Meg Westerheide for the women.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// RETURNING CHAMPION
On March 11, 2017, Annette Echikunwoke capture the national title in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships, collecting the first crown in program history as she won with a heave of 22.42m (73-06.75). With her win, Echikunwoke became just the fifth UC student-athlete to win an individual national title in the history of UC Athletics. Prior to her victory, two diving and two swimming titles had been captured by Bearcats with the last coming in 2010 when Josh Schneider won the men's 50 freestyle. Echikunwoke also is now just the second UC woman to win an individual national crown, joining diver Becky Ruehl, who won the 1996 platform event at the NCAA meet. Prior to that trio, Pat Evans won the 3m diving event in 1989 and Charles Keating brought home the first gold with the title in 200 butterfly in 1946.
// SMASHING RECORDS
On her way to the title, the UC record holder broke her program mark three times during the year, bringing her haul to 11 times since the start of the 2016 season that she either tied or broke the mark with five of those throws coming at Indiana's facility. Prior to that season, the record was 19.53m (64-01.00) and was held by Mimi Merrill since 2001. Echikunwoke broke that record on her second throw of the 2016 season with a mark of 20.04m before bettering that record to 20.05m two rounds later at the Kentucky Invitational. From there, Echikunwoke improved the record five more times in 2016 and then four times in 2017 to eventually land at 22.69m (74-05.50), which is the current record and a 10' 4.5" improvement over Merrill's previous record.
// RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Along with Echikunwoke, the Bearcats have one other returning indoor All-American and five more that earned the national accolade during the outdoor season last year. Adrian Valles finished fifth in the men's pole vault indoors last year before taking national runner-up honors outdoor to collect a pair of USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors, bringing his career total to five. Loretta Blaut placed in a tie for sixth in the high jump outdoors to earn first team honors while the team of Haisha Bisiolu, Deanna Gesicki, Tiona Lattimore and Bryana Robinson combined to earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors in the 4x400m relay outdoors, the first for a relay in program history.
// THAT'S A FIRST
The women's 4x400m relay team was full of firsts in 2017. The quartet swept the 4x400m relay events at the AAC Indoor and AAC Outdoor Championships for the first crowns in program history. Then, the ladies broke the school record several times, including in their win at the conference outdoor meet before breaking it once again, running 3:36.59 at the regional meet to qualify for the national finals, marking the first UC relay to reach the NCAA outdoor meet. They weren't done there, however, as they broke the record once again in Eugene, running 3:35.96 in the semifinals to finish 15th overall. Despite not reaching the final, the team did earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team accolades, marking the first time in program history a relay team earned All-America status.
// INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN
For the second time in his career, Adrian Valles took part in one of the largest meets in the world as he represented his native Spain in the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London this past summer. Valles, who competed at the world meet in Beijing, China, in 2015, placed 16th overall in the qualification round this year. To get to London, Valles continued to chase a clearance of 5.70m throughout much of the collegiate season before he was added to the field in a pole vault competition in Landau, Germany. In the street event (raised runway on a city street), Valles climbed over the qualifying standard and punched his ticket to London.
// XC: DUNLAP EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE
Heading into the 2016 cross country season, the Bearcats women had not had an all-conference (Top 15) finisher in the AAC Championships. Then, Juliana Madzia, who was honored as a Top 30 selection for the 2016-17 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, finished 13th at the meet UC hosted to earn the program's first all-conference accolade since Ruth Limo at the 2004 Conference USA meet. This year, Madison Dunlap ran a personal-best time on a hilly course in Philadelphia to place 15th overall and earn her first all-conference selection and the program's second in as many years. The 15th woman in program history to earn cross country all-conference honors (25th total honor), Dunlap combines with Madzia to earn back-to-back conference honors for the first time since 2001 and 2002 when Angie Kist and Limo finished 12th and 10th, respectively, at the CUSA meet.
// MEN ACADEMICALLY HONORED
Following the cross country season, the American Athletic Conference announced its annual award winners with the UC men being named the 2017 AAC Team Academic Award winners. This is the second year in a row that the Bearcats men have won the award, which is given to the team with the highest cumulative GPA.
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The Bearcats welcomed 22 newcomers to the program this year, including 18 true freshmen, with 17 of those total newcomers joining the men's roster. Joining the men's track & field and cross country rosters are freshmen Cameron Davis (Strongsville), Connor Duricky (Mentor), Ryan Guenthner (Louisville, Ky.), Danny Jones (Canal Winchester), Albert Kalala (Cincinnati), Isaiah McCall (Lexington, Ky.), Sam Meece (Napolean), Issac Naayers (Lancaster), Cannon Riddle (Hilliard), Jacob Rieman (Beavercreek), Matt Stump (Medina), Brandon White (Stafford, Va.) and Zion Wynn (Loveland). The men also welcomed in transfers Marcus Abraham (Charlotte, N.C./Gardner-Webb U.), Branden Nosker (Troy, Ohio/Mississippi State) and Anthony Woods (Macedonia, Ohio/Ohio Dominican U.) with Steven Zombory (Chardon) joining the program after running for the campus running club. On the women's side, four of the five newcomers are true freshmen, including Sydney Hess (Curtice), Kennedy Marable (Toledo), Sam Mikula (Columbus) and Katrina Patterson (Clarence, N.Y.) with the fifth newcomer being Mary Purtsa (Germany).
// WELCOME TO UC!
While the majority of newcomers to the 2017-18 rosters were men, the 2018-19 signing class is comprised mostly of women. The class, which will join the Bearcats in time for the 2018 cross country and 2019 track & field seasons, includes 13 members, including nine women and four men. The women's class includes Faith Banks (Macedonia), Kaylia Black (Sandusky), Caisja Chandler (Euclid), Kylie Cutlip (Quaker City), Izzy Kline (Newton Falls), Carmen Licht (Macedonia), Leah Maschino (Maineville), Rylee Penn (Corona, Calif.) and Malin Smith (Lansing, Mich.) while the newest members of the men's program will include Toni Banos (Berga, Spain), Aaron Bienenfeld (Frankfurt, Germany), Austin Goolsby (Hillsboro) and Quincy Mitchell (Hanahan, S.C.).
// TWO MORE TO ADD
The Bearcats men added a pair of mid-year competitors over the winter break as signee Bienenfeld and transfer Andre Wright are ready to compete for the Bearcats immediately. Both individuals will be entering their sophomore seasons with Bienenfeld coming from the University of Frankfurt (Germany) and Wright transferring in from Liberty University. Bienenfeld will run in the distance events while Wright will take part in the horizontal jumps (long and triple).
// UC HOSTING AAC OUTDOORS IN 2018
This season, the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by the Bearcats at Gettler Stadium and Coy Field. The three-day meet will take place May 11-13 on the UC campus and will mark the first AAC track & field meet the Bearcats have played host and the second AAC meet UC has hosted after holding the 2016 AAC Cross Country Championships at Voice of America MetroPark in West Chester. The last time the Bearcats played host to a conference meet came in 2010 when the BIG EAST meet was held at Gettler Stadium.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will return to action Saturday, January 20, when they head to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational. The meet will be contested over one day with several field events getting underway at 10 a.m. before running events start at noon.